Time is of the Essence
by OokamiManiakku
Summary: The normal rivalry between Vlad Masters and his archenemy, Danny Phantom, has grown and become too much for Danny to handle. Will he be able to stop Vlad or will he be lost in the fabric of time for the rest of eternity? Updated: 4/13/09
1. Detention

Okay, so... I haven't written a DP fanfic in forever and I had this really neat idea for one, but I'm laaaazy so it hadn't gotten written before. And I'm really bored right now. xD

First of all, this story was originally going to be OC-based on my character, Raiden, but I couldn't follow along the storyline good enough with him, so I figured DP and friends would work better.

Also, I am going to keep this one strictly DP characters, no OCs at all (save maybe one or two side characters or something).

Again, sorry about the (pagebreak)s. I can't find a better way of breaking off in these chapters. ffnet's formatting kinda stinks for that. xD

**Title**: Time is of the Essence

**Author:** DarkRebelWolf aka Tomatowolf aka Me xD

**Disclaimer:** Danny Fenton/Phantom, Sam Manson, Tucker Foley and all related characters belong to the wonderful genius of a man, Butch Hartman. Whatever other side characters I stick in here belong to me. xD Oh yeah, and "Twilight" is copyrighted to Stephenie Meyer.

**Rating:** The story is probably going to be rated PG for mild violence/cartoon peril, but I will rate each of the chapters individually (nothing over PG, however)

**Spoilers:** Umm... let's say after Kindled Spirits but before Phantom Planet. Probably after Urban Jungle too, but I'm not sure if I'll use Danny's ice powers yet. (Also will be updated with the chapters)

**Pairings:** DannyxSam

**Warnings:** Cartoon violence/peril, _maybe_ a kiss later on. (Will be updated with the chapters)

**Story Synopsis:** Vlad Masters truly is an evil villain. The normal rivalry between the ghost and his archenemy, Danny Phantom, has grown and become too much for Danny to handle. Will he be able to stop Vlad or will he be lost in the fabric of time for the rest of eternity?

**Time is of the Essence**

by OokamiManiakku

**Chapter One**

The school bell rang, announcing the end of class, but not the end of the school day, as Danny Fenton was sure to find out.

"Mr. Fenton," came the annoyingly recognizable voice of the one teacher the teenage boy did not want to see.

Hesitantly, Daniel Fenton- a raven-haired boy with expressive eyes and a round face- leaned back to peek around his locker door. His light blue eyes were concerned as he saw the irritation planted on his teacher's face. "Yes?" He asked politely.

"I do not need to remind you of the hour of detention you have today, do I?" Lancer asked, exchanging his hands-on-hips position in favor of arms-across-chest.

"What?" Danny's eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Exactly how did Mr. Riley's back-right corner of the lab get blown up, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Danny sighed as his shoulders slumped. It wasn't really his fault, he argued in his head. Considering the last few ghost attacks had been at school where he was not suspecting them, when Tucker came up behind him that day, he'd accidentally let loose one badly-aimed ghost ray and blew up the concoction he'd been working on.

"Detention, got it." Danny grumbled as he finished putting the rest of his books in his backpack.

Lancer smiled smugly and walked away.

"Ouch. Sorry, Dude." Tucker made sure his voice was heard before he walked up to Danny this time. He leaned against the locker and fixed his beret on his head. Danny just closed his locker door.

"It's not like I have anything to do today anyway," He slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I guess you didn't get busted for that though?"

Tucker grinned sheepishly. "Well... actually..."

"Thanks again, Tucker," Samantha Manson interrupted as she walked up to the two boys, pieces of wood stuck in her black hair.

"What happened to you?" Danny asked as he picked a sliver of oak out.

Sam was giving dragon-glares to Tucker. "Why don't you ask _him_?"

Danny turned his attention to said boy.

Tucker again grinned sheepishly and pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "Well.. uh... there was a little mishap in Shop..."

"_Little?_" Sam nearly screeched, making both of them flinch. "Tucker tried to reprogram Mr. Miller's new electronic table saw with his PDA and it went on the fritz. It completely destroyed my sculpture."

"You made a sculpture?" Danny asked, puzzled. Sam hated Shop. She usually just sat through it trying not to fall asleep.

Sam blushed and looked away. "I was feeling a little creative today, is that a crime?"

Danny just smiled. "Well, that means me and Tuck will have to meet you at the Nasty Burger later, Sam," Danny sighed.

Sam shook her head. "No... I got it too..."

"Why?"

Tucker laughed. "I don't think you want to know, Dude."

This only piqued Danny's interest. "What happened?"

Sam rolled her lavender eyes but still wouldn't look at them. "I... kind of... blew up when it happened. Verbally..."

Danny raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "Really?"

"Let's just go to detention before we get into more trouble..." Sam grumbled as she started off for the library.

Danny and Tucker looked at each other, grinned, and followed after.

(pagebreak)

Lancer sat with his legs up on his desk, reading a copy of "Novel Ideas Weekly", a magazine of sorts that reported on all the lastest books on the market, when the kids arrived.

The teacher didn't look up from his article as he said, "You're late," and then turned the page.

All three teens waited to see if he would continue that sentence with an "and you have more detention tomorrow", but he didn't so they chose their seats and settled in.

Sam pulled out her newest favorite book- a book about vampires entitled, "Twilight", and slid down in her chair to await the coming of the next hour when she would be free.

Tucker was busy playing Tetris on his PDA, which he was glad Lancer hadn't taken from him this time, and losing badly.

That left young Danny Fenton to be bored on his own. Sure, he _could_ work on his homework, but what kid really wanted to do that? He would rather make paper footballs and flick them around the room.

As that thought crossed his mind, Danny took out his notebook and opened to the first page. Embarrassed by the sketchy drawing, he quickly flipped a few pages ahead and began reviewing his catches in the last week.

Skulker had been apprehended and tossed back into the Ghost Zone on Monday once he had attacked Danny in the shower after P.E. Technus was captured after his futile attempt to take over Danny's father's latest electronic mishap that he dubbed, "The Fenton Whirligig".

Danny narrowed his eyes on the last report he'd written in. Vlad Masters was up to his old tricks again, he was sure of it. For some reason the only other halfa in the world (besides Danny's clone, Danni Phantom) had been found at the museum after closing, the previous night. But upon inspection, Danny couldn't find anything stolen or misplaced and Vlad had insisted that he had only been looking. After that, he left pretty much in a peaceful manner... after blasting Danny in the butt just for kicks, of course.

The boy leaned forward, resting his head in his hand as he contemplated what that had been about. Vlad always had an evil scheme to work out, a plan that he wanted to unfold. But what could it be this time? Danny wanted to catch him before the ghost could do any damage, but there weren't any real leads to go on right now.

He sighed as he tore out a piece of notebook paper and carefully folded it into a triangular shape. He flicked it at Tucker but it missed, sailing over and hitting Sam in the temple.

She looked annoyed at first, for being interrupted from her fantasy book world, but when she saw Danny's embarrassed grin, she smiled in return before going back to her reading.

Danny smiled too and flipped back to that first page in his notebook.


	2. Book of Time

**Spoilers:** MM, KS

**Rating:** G

**Notes:** I can't remember which eppy the Maddie Program is in. Sorry! Continuum Crystal belongeth to me. Book of Time belongeth to me (however I got the original idea for it off of an eppy of Jackie Chan Adventures). And please ignore all the (pagebreak)s. I don't know any other way to keep ffnet from crunching all my words together. oO

(pagebreak)

**Chapter Two**

(pagebreak)

The astute gentleman paced soundlessly up and down the length of his "office", stroking his chin as he mumbled to himself. Once, he ran his fingers through his long, white hair but that was it for movements other than the pacing. His hands were held behind his back in a proper, upper class posture as his mind raced through the options, the plan, yet again.

"Anything I can do for you, Vladdykins?" The voice appeared before the hologram did. She was shorter than Vlad, the gentleman, with chin-length brown hair and lavender-colored eyes. Her form fuzzed out a bit before it became solid.

"Not now, Maddie, I'm trying to think." Vlad ordered as he paced toward her. He smiled at his creation.

"Of course, Dear. Let me know when there's anything you need." She smiled sweetly.

Vlad paused, mid-step, to look at her. "Actually, my dear, there is something you might do for me," He grinned as he turned to his massive super-computer. He hit "enter" on the keyboard and the screen saver- a collage of Maddie pictures- disappeared, revealing a picture of a massive jewel. "Do you know what this is?" He asked, hands behind his back once more.

The Maddie Program tilted her head to the side as she scanned the picture with her eyes. It took a moment for her to find the same picture in her database. "The Continuum Crystal," she answered.

Vlad smirked smugly. "Precisely, my dear. And do you know where it is located?"

"The Crystal is a myth, Vladdy-kins."

Vlad's eyes twitched at that name. "Erase that one from your database," he instructed.

"Yes, Sweety." Maddie paused. "Nickname erased."

"The Crystal is not a myth, Maddie." Vlad turned to look at her. "It is real."

"Not by my calcula-"

"Well your calculations are wrong." Vlad snapped. He took in a deep breath to calm himself. "You mustn't always believe what logic tells you, my dear."

"How can I not? I am a computer program." Maddie giggled. "One that you created, Honey Bunny."

Vlad rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. I know," he sighed. "Perhaps you cannot believe this, but I can. And I do. This Crystal is really out there." his hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out a delicate item wrapped in cloth.

Carefully, gently, Vlad unfolded the purple cloth from around the object and plucked it from inside. He gingerly held it up for the Maddie Program to see. "Do you see this?" He asked darkly, a sly smile hovering on his lips.

"It is a piece of paper," Maddie replied.

"Not just any piece of paper," Vlad chuckled. "This is a piece torn from the Book of Time."

"Also a myth," Maddie quipped.

"Stop being so absurd!" Vlad nearly shouted. "If it were a myth, would I be holding it in my hand?"

The Maddie Program blinked at him.

"I received this from the Amity Park Museum." He carefully laid the piece of paper back in the cloth and wrapped it up. He chuckled again. "They don't realize the worth of what they had."

A wrinkle appeared between Maddie's eyebrows. "I cannot compute how this is connected with the Continuum Crystal, Sweet."

Vlad smiled smugly again. "Of course you can't. You don't even think either item is real," he shrugged. "Soon you'll see," he turned back to his computer and narrowed his eyes on the picture. "Soon you'll all see."

(pagebreak)

"Dude, you need to calm down." Tucker said, resting his hand carefully on Danny's shoulder. Danny was looking around quickly, surveying the area.

"Danny, it was just a squirrel. Nothing to freak out about," Sam said, smiling softly at him.

Danny hesitantly relaxed his position and sighed. "Sorry, guys. I keep wondering when another ghost is going to-"

His sentence turned into a yelp as he tumbled across the grass in a somersault. Danny ground his teeth together and recovered quickly from the attack, ready to shoot a ghost ray at whomever had attacked him.

But all he was met with were laughs from two very non-ghost teenagers.

"Sheesh, Fen-toney, what's wrong with you?" Dash Baxter laughed as he pointed at Danny. "You seem weaker than usual."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Leave him alone, Dash."

"And what are you going to do about it, Bat Girl?" He asked, towering over her.

Sam just kept her bored, annoyed expression in place. "Bat Girl? Really?" She deadpanned.

Tucker backed away from the bully.

"What do you want, Dash?" Danny asked in irritation as he rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder blade where Dash had punched him.

"Heard you blew up Riley's lab today," Kwan said from his position beside Dash. "Nice job, Fenton."

"It was an accident," Tucker replied. He received a glare from both football players and went back to hiding behind Sam's back.

"Why is that any of your business anyway?" Sam had her arms crossed, settled into her left hip as she met their glares with one of her own.

"It's my business 'cause you got that goop in Paulina's hair and she's been barkin' about it for the last three hours," Dash replied.

Sam smiled. "That's what was in her hair? Let her know I think it's a good look for her," She snickered.

"I didn't mean to do it, Dash," Danny tried explaining. "I put in the wrong ingredients and-"

"I don't care what you meant to do, Fen-turd. I've been suffering for three hours 'cause of that."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Danny asked, not meaning for the words to sound so confident. He grimaced.

Dash grinned, as if this were the one thing he was hoping Danny would ask. "I'm gonna wail on ya, that's what." He walked forward and grabbed the front of Danny's shirt.

"Dash, let him go," Sam demanded, reaching out to Danny. Dash just knocked her hand away.

"Keep out of this, Bat Girl." He lifted Danny off of the ground.

Danny frowned and glanced down at Dash's hand. Very quickly and carefully, he phased that part of his shirt and slipped through Dash's hand just as the bully's fist came down to nail him. Danny fell to the ground and Dash ended up punching his own hand. He howled in pain.

"Fenton!!" He screamed as Danny scrambled to his feet.

He grabbed Tucker and Sam and took off down the street.

"Where are we going?" Tucker asked as they raced down the sidewalk.

"Somewhere that's not here," Danny suggested. "Are they following?"

Tucker looked behind him. "And gaining!" He moved faster, running past both of them.

Sam and Danny looked at each other, each thinking the same thing, and grabbed Tucker's shirt. They skidded to a stop and ducked into an alley.

"Going ghost!" Danny shouted, raising his arms. Two rings of white light exploded from his middle and stretched outwardly. White hair replaced black, green eyes replaced blue. Within moments, Danny Fenton was gone... and Danny Phantom had arrived.

"Hold on," He instructed, opening his arms. Tucker and Sam wrapped themselves around him. Danny closed his eyes, concentrating, and phased all three of them. He took them into the air as Dash and Kwan made it to the alley.

"They went in here, I know it!" Dash said as he began throwing around trash cans, looking for them.

Tucker sighed with relief. "That was close," he mumbled.

Danny smiled, taking off through the sky toward his house.


	3. Changes

**Spoilers:** MM, MBK

**Rating:** G

**Notes:** The "just noticeable difference" is a real psychology term. xD I took psychology this last summer, lol.

**Chapter Three**:

Vlad stood in front of his open portal. The green, swirling energy of the Ghost Zone cast an eerie glow upon his face, and- mixed with the cold, blood red of his eyes- made him look very creepy.

Unlike Danny, whose ghost form was a negative of himself, Vlad had a very interesting alter ego. His long, white hair turned black and was shaped like a devil's horns. His skin became blue while his gray eyes turned red. Vlad Masters became Vlad Plasmius.

Vlad chuckled once as he looked at the package in his palm one last time. It was a small, square shape wrapped in brown paper and tied up with packaging string. He slid it into his pocket before swiveling around to look at the rest of his lab.

"Goodbye, Maddie." He bowed at the waist.

The hologram fuzzed into its solid form in front of him. "May I ask where you are going, Cupcake?"

Vlad grinned a toothy grin and chuckled darkly. "Let's just say, you'll find out in due _time_, my dear." He spun back around, letting his cape fly out dramatically behind him, as he leapt through the portal.

Maddie tilted her head to the side, trying to find a logical answer that would make his response make sense. "Cannot compute." The hologram settled for that before she smiled once and then disappeared.

(pagebreak)

"But Danny, I need to test this on you!" Jasmine Fenton shouted through her brother's bedroom door as she stood patiently outside. Jasmine, also known as "Jazz" to her family and friends, was Danny's older- and only- sister. She had long, waist-length red hair and greenish-blue eyes. And she was smart.

Although, Danny would argue, not as smart as she thought she was.

Said teenager buried his nose further into his comic book, trying hard to ignore his sister.

"Danny-"

"For the last time, Jazz!" He shouted. "I'm not going to be your stupid test subject!"

"You have to, Danny." Jazz was relentless.

"Why?"

"You_ know_ why." Jazz hinted. "You're kind of... the_ strongest_ one in the family."

Danny huffed his breath, tossed his comic book to the side, and stood up from his bed. "You have to have a ghost to do this?" He asked quietly, through his teeth. He opened the door and Jazz smiled.

"It's not a test on your ghostliness, Danny." She frowned at the made up word. "It's a test on your Difference Threshold." She dragged him over to his bed.

"My what?" Danny asked.

"It's called a Difference Threshold or 'just noticeable difference'. This particular test will tell me what your pain threshold is." She looked up at him and smiled at the confusion on his face. "Okay, here. I did the test on Mom and Dad. I take two points," She held up two pens. "And you close your eyes. I put one of the points at your wrist and the other at your elbow. Then, I slowly move them closer to each other and you have to tell me when you no longer feel two points, but one."

Danny blinked. "So you want to write on my skin?"

"Danny, please." Jazz rolled her eyes. "This is for my psychology class. I need to measure your pain threshold against Mom's and Dad's."

"Fine." Danny sighed. He held out his left arm and closed his eyes. "What do I do?"

"Just let me know when you only feel one point of pressure." Jazz told him. She poked his wrist and his elbow. Then, the pens lifted and she brought them a bit closer and came down. After a few more tries, Danny raised his right hand.

"There."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Open your eyes."

Danny looked at his arm. "Okay... what does that mean?"

"Well... you certainly have a higher threshold than Mom..." Jazz stood back up straight. "I hypothesized that since you're a fighter you would be able to take pain a lot better than them, but I never imagined you being _this_ strong."

"I'm strong?" Danny asked.

"Danny, Dad had me stop after the first two tries. Mom was better than that, but this is incredible. Your threshold for pain is amazing!" She smiled. "You're a lot stronger than you think."

Danny grinned. "Dad didn't have a high one?"

Jazz laughed once. "Are you kidding? He-" She paused, mid-sentence. Her mouth fell open.

"Jazz?" Danny cocked his head. He stood up and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hey, Jazz. Are you all right?"

She blinked once and looked at him. Her face scrunched up in confusion. "Danny? What are you doing here?"

Danny's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

Jazz backed away from him. "How did you get back to Amity Park?!"

"Jazz, what are you talking about?" Danny asked, worry beginning to color his tone. He took a step toward her. "Jazz-"

"Mom sent you off to boarding school months ago. What'd they do, kick you out?" She was backing toward the door.

"What? Boarding school?" He wrinkled his nose. "Why would I be in boarding school?"

"Mom!" Jazz shouted. "Mom, come here!" She bolted out the door.

"Jazz? Wait!" Danny raced after her. He slid down the stair rail and ran into the kitchen, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Jazz was shouting something to a woman in the kitchen. She looked kind of familiar. She had the same brown hair, the same lavender eyes as his mother, but...

"Where's your jumpsuit?" Danny asked the woman wearing a sun dress. She turned to look at Danny.

"I didn't think Principal Gray expelled students this easily." Maddie said, holding her hand over her mouth. "We're going to have to talk to your father about this, Young Man. What did you do?"

"I- I don't..."

"Is there a problem, Maddie?" This new voice interrupted Danny. His eyes flicked over to see a tall gentleman striding in from the hallway. Danny gasped and his eyes widened.

"Vlad, Sweety, Danny got kicked out of school." Maddie told him.

Vlad turned his head to give Danny a teasing smile. "Did he now?"

"V-Vlad..." Danny mumbled. "F-F... Father?" He swallowed hard. "What's going on?!" He shrieked.

_To be continued..._


	4. White Corp

**Spoilers:** MDG, SoG, DCMH

**Rating:** PG- Cartoon peril

**Notes:** Thanks for all the support, you guys! I love my fans. xD

**Chapter Four**

_There's no way._ Danny thought desperately as he zipped through the skies of Amity Park completely invisible. He had gone outsid to calm down and try and make sense of his surroundings, flying always did that for him, but now he was just as worked up as he had been inside that... that house.

No, it wasn't a house. It was a mansion. Vlad's mansion. Where had FentonWorks gone and what on Earth was going on with his family? Jazz seemed afraid of him and his mother... she didn't even look him in the eyes. They were all spouting some garbage about a boarding school too. He'd apparently been gone for eight months.

Danny shook his head. This was all too confusing.

He passed right over the small town, headed to the one and only place he wanted to be.

Danny landed on the balcony silently and rapped quietly on her window. "Sam?" He whispered.

Behind the window, there was some commotion before the curtain opened and she was standing there, staring at him. Sam blinked a few times before unlocking her window and opening it.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Sam, this is insane!" Danny exploded as he marched past her, into her bedroom. "I was at home and then Vlad was there and Mom and... and..." He looked at her puzzled expression and paused.

"Uh... Danny, are you okay?" Sam asked, concerned. He noticed she hadn't come toward him. "Maybe you should sit down."

"No, I don't want to sit down. I just-" He turned around and stopped abruptly. "What... are... these?"

Sam blushed behind him. "You... you remember Gregor, don't you?" She asked quietly.

Danny's jaw dropped as he stared at the posters on her wall. "G-Gregor?" He spun back around. "What is _Gregor_ doing on your wall?" He hissed.

Sam took a step back. "Danny, calm down. This is what got you sent to the institution in the first place."

"Institution? What institution?"

"Well, White Corp., obviously. Seriously, Danny. Are you all right?" She tilted her head at him.

"No!" Danny shouted, throwing his arms up in the air. "I'm not all right! I have no idea what's going on!"

"Okay, listen." Sam held up her hands defensively. "Why don't you just sit down and we can talk about this." She looked at him pointedly.

Danny hesitated for a moment before the rings came and changed him back to his human form. He pulled a chair out from her desk and sat down, frowning.

"Good. Now, what's wrong, Danny?" Sam asked, taking a careful step toward him.

"Everything's wrong." Danny replied, running his fingers through his black hair. "Nothing's the same. Nothing's right. In a split second everything changed."

"I don't understand," Sam answered. "Everything's just fine, Danny. It's always been like this."

"No, it hasn't!" Danny shouted. "Sam, Vlad was never my father!" He jumped up. "I was never in boarding school, you never liked Gregor!" He paused. "Okay, you liked him... until you found out he was fake."

Sam frowned. "He is _not_ fake. And you're not in boarding school."

"Thank you. At least someone-"

"You're in White Corp's Institution." Sam interrupted.

Danny looked at her carefully. "What exactly... does that mean?"

"It means you're clinically insane, Danny. It's an Asylum."

Danny froze. "Wh...What?"

"The boarding school was just a cover-up for your mom and sister. So it wouldn't freak them out." Sam tried to explain. He recognized the careful look in her eyes now. It was fear. "Vlad sent you there because he was afraid you'd hurt someone."

"Vlad... he..." Danny leaned over, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked quietly. "I can call Vlad if you wa-"

"No! I don't want Vlad!" Danny exploded. Sam flinched. "Why do you keep doing that?! Sam, I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me, Danny." Sam tried to assure him, but her tone didn't agree with her words. "How did you get back here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Last time I heard they were keeping you under lock and key."

Danny shook his head. "I told you. I never went anywhere. I was standing in my bedroom with Jazz. She was doing some stupid psychology trick and-"

"Psychology?" Sam asked. "That's funny. I thought she gave it up."

Danny stared at her in shock. "My sister... give psychology up?"

"Well, she was kind of torn up about the divorce. She'd really hoped your parents' marriage would work out. Despite the odds..."

"Divorce?!" Danny shrieked. "What divorce?!"

"Between your mom and dad." Sam rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Danny. What'd they do, wipe your memory?"

"So... Vlad's not my father then...." He whispered, a little bit of relief coloring his tone.

"Not your biological one anyway." Sam agreed with a shrug. She sat down on her bed just as her laptop made a beeping sound. Sam hit the enter key and a screen came up. She smiled softly into it. "Hey, Tuck."

"Tuck!" Danny cried happily. He raced over to the bed, causing Sam to cringe away, and grabbed the laptop, spinning it toward him. "Tucker!" He shouted again.

The face on the screen looked bewildered. "D-Danny?" He asked. "What are you doing at Sam's house?"

"Long story, Tuck." Sam offered.

"Tucker, you remember, don't you?" Danny pleaded desperately.

Tucker cocked an eyebrow. "Uh... sure, Dude."

"I'm not crazy, am I?" Danny demanded.

Tucker hesitated, looking past him at Sam. She just shrugged, her eyes wide. "Of course not, Danny." He grinned nervously.

Danny caught the implication. "You don't remember either." He sighed, devestated.

"Am I missing something?" Tucker asked, starting to get annoyed. "Sam, why did you let him in your house? I thought your parents told you never to speak to him again."

"Yeah, like I'm actually going to do what my parents tell me to." Sam replied sarcastically, holding her hands on her hips. "He's not dangerous, Tuck."

"Tell that to Axion Labs." Tucker retorted.

"What? What do you mean?" Danny demanded. When Tucker didn't answer he turned to Sam. "What does he mean?"

She grimaced. "Well... it was a few weeks before they sent you away. You were fighting that ghost dog. You remember him, right?"

"Yeah. The one that plays fetch with my foot?" Danny deadpanned.

"Yep. That's the one." Sam laughed nervously. "Anyway, you couldn't get him to behave and you just... exploded. I mean, you destroyed the entire laboratory." She sighed. "The dog got away, thankfully."

"How do you know it was me? It could have been the dog!" Danny argued.

"Dude, they found you trying to shred a piece of a metal pipe with your bare hands." Tucker piped in. "And you were human."

"Who found me?"

"The Guys In White." Sam answered. "And then they recommended to your mom and Vlad that they take you in."

"White Corp..." Danny's eyes grew big. "Mom handed me over to the Guys In White?!"

"Danny, she doesn't know you're a ghost, remember?" Tucker replied. "Calm down, Dude. The Guys In White told the whole big story about the boarding school that they ran."

"But Vlad knew." Danny's eyes narrowed. "He knew it wasn't a boarding school."

"Of course he knew." Tucker answered. "He's the one that convinced your mom into sending you."

Danny's teeth ground together. His fists clenched.

"Danny, relax." Sam rested a slightly trembling hand on his shoulder. "If my parents know you're in here, they're going to freak and you'll be right back at the institution."

"They sent me there over one explosion?" Danny asked in a low, controlled voice. "That they can't even prove was my fault?"

"Well..." Tucker sounded nervous. "You had a few... "blow ups" before that. It started when your dad left. I mean, you were really mad about that. And then when Vlad swooped in and took his spot..." Tucker shook his head on-screen. "I wouldn't call you the most mentally-stable kid around."

"But nothing near the monster the Guys In White made you sound like." Sam cut in defensively. "They said you were in league with "Invis-O-Bill". That you had been from the beginning."

"They never could get my name right..." Danny grumbled.

"They've always tried to make you the bad guy." Tucker frowned. "But I don't think they could have faked this one so easily. I mean, you _were_ the only one that showed up on the cameras."

Danny closed his eyes and held his head in his hands again. "I don't know what's going on...." He whispered. "This is all... wrong."

"How?" Tucker asked impatiently. "I'm lost here."

"It just is!" Danny cried.

Sam pulled the laptop away from him. "Tucker, meet us in the forest in ten minutes. Stay connected on the phone. I'll explain on the way." And she hung up on him, closing the lid to her laptop. Sam hopped off the bed and took Danny's hand.

He looked up at her.

She offered a small smile. "If you fly us, invisibly, it will be a lot less conspicuous."

Danny followed her to the window just as her phone started ringing.

Sam picked up. "Tuck? Okay. Here's what happened as far as I understand it..."

_To be continued..._


	5. Ghost Portal

Thanks for all the reviews and comments, everyone! ^^ It's greatly appreciated!

**Spoilers:** MM, MB, TUE, EFAE

**Rating:** G

**Notes:** I couldn't remember which eppy it was where we found out that Sam was the one who convinced Danny to go into the portal. I think it was Memory Blank. Anyway...

**Chapter Five**

"So... you're not crazy?" Tucker asked as he leaned against one of the maple trees in the forest. He had met both Danny and Sam in the woods, but was keeping his distance from either of them.

Danny sighed. "I told you. I was talking with Jazz and the next thing I know, everything changes around me."

"So... what do _you_ remember?" Sam asked.

"Sam, don't encourage him." Tucker scolded. "Danny, maybe we should take you home."

"Think about it, Tucker." Sam replied with her hands on her hips. "Stranger things have happened. The town's been attacked by ghosts, for Pete's sake."

"But Sam, there's never been a complete change like Danny claims, before." Tucker argued. "You think about it. Which makes more sense? Danny losing it a bit or a whole timeline being changed?"

Danny looked at him. "What?"

Tucker blinked. "Which makes more sense?" He repeated.

Danny shook his head. "No. You said... something about a timeline being changed."

"Well, yeah, but," Tucker began. "That is theoretically impossible. I mean, the theory of time travel-"

"Is completely possible." Danny interrupted. Both kids look at him. "Okay, listen." He held up his hands defensively as he tried to organize his thoughts. "You guys remember some of the things that I do. Like my ghost powers. How did I get those?"

"You stepped into your dad's portal." Tucker said. "Which Sam convinced you to do." He grinned.

Sam frowned. "He could have not listened to me." She grumbled.

"Okay, so some of our memories are the same." Danny stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Why would only the recent timeline be changed?" He mumbled to himself.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, nobody changed-"

"Clockwork!" Danny cried. "I need to see Clockwork!"

Sam and Tucker looked at each other. "Who?" Sam asked.

"Clockwork. He's the ghost that controls time. Remember?" Danny replied. They just shrugged. "We went to the future that time! And I had turned into some creepy, older ghost who was trying to kill human civilization. Ring a bell?"

Tucker and Sam shook their heads.

Danny rubbed his forehead. "Okay, well... yeah. It happened. And I think I can fix this. All of this. I just need access to a ghost portal so I can-"

"A ghost portal?" Tucker repeated. He scoffed. "Dude, you're never going to find one of those."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Vlad kind of got rid of all the ghost stuff. The city's been pretty calm lately."

"What? How can Vlad do that?!" Danny cried.

"Duh, Danny. He's the mayor." Sam answered. "And since he got rid of you and the ghost portals, there haven't been any ghost attacks lately."

"So... there's none left?" Danny asked, defeated. "There's... there's no way to fix this?"

Before either of the other two could answer, Tucker's PDA started beeping rapidly.

"What is that?" Sam asked suspiciously.

Tucker grinned sheepishly as he pulled his PDA out of his pocket. "Just a little... warning system I set up. You know, just in case you came back." He looked at Danny. "It's a radar."

"So... you do believe me?" Danny asked, his eyes brightening.

Tucker shrugged. "I can't say I believe the time travel bit. But I don't think you're evil, Danny." He smiled as he poked around on his PDA. "Oh no."

"What?" Danny and Sam asked together.

"Guys In White. They're coming from the west. We have less than nine minutes."

"I guess Vlad put out the word that you're back." Sam said, gritting her teeth. "Go Danny. Run. Don't let them catch you."

Danny took a few steps back. "But... what about you guys?"

"What are they gonna do to us?" Tucker chuckled. "We're just innocent human kids playing a game of hide-and-seek in the woods. Right Sam?"

She smiled. "Right." She closed her eyes. "One... two... three..."

Tucker took off through the trees.

"Sam..." Danny whimpered behind her.

She peeked and smiled at him. "Hide Danny. Figure out how you can fix this." She opened both of her eyes. "Ready or not- here I come, Tuck!" She giggled through her teeth as she chased after him.

Danny smiled and set the rings in motion. He turned invisible and took to the skies.


	6. Criminal Record

Thanks for all the reviews and comments everybody! It's greatly appreciated!

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, MDG, UJ

**Rating:** PG for cartoon violence.

**Notes:** I got "Slow Fade" from a song by Big Daddy Weave. I loooooove that song. xD

**Chapter Six**

So Vlad was the one that got rid of the ghost portals. How convenient.

Danny flew invisibly above the little town of Amity Park. Families were going inside for the night, the traffic was slowing. Shops were closing up here and there as the sun went down. Store lights turned off and street lights turned on. It was so peaceful below... if you overlooked all the white SUVs with horns blaring and green lights spinning as they searched the streets for him.

Danny swallowed hard and prayed that the agents wouldn't be scanning the skies as they sped down the residential streets, hollering warnings and protocols through their megaphones. He couldn't be interrupted now. He couldn't get dragged to... wherever the Guys In White took their prisoners. He needed to fix this. Before it was too late.

_And there's only one person I can think of who can fix it._ Danny thought angrily. He narrowed his eyes and flew straight for the mansion that everyone insisted was his.

_(pagebreak)_

He landed quietly and unseen on the flat roof of the building. After taking a quick look around, he phased himself and attempted to fall through the roof. But it didn't work. Confused, Danny knelt down and pounded against the roof, but his hands wouldn't go through.

"Ghost shield." He grumbled under his breath. Vlad was making sure he couldn't sneak around anywhere. Danny knew he'd have to get in through the front door.

He flew down to the ground and pressed himself up against the wall of the building. He set the rings of pure, white light in motion to transform himself back to human. Danny peered around the corner of the building, prepared to make a mad dash to the front door, when he heard the massive oak door unlock and open. He gasped and hid his face.

"No, I realize that the little brat is back. I don't care how you capture him, I want it done."

Danny narrowed his eyes and peeked around the corner again. The tall, shadowed figure of Vlad Masters stood on the porch, speaking into a cell phone. Danny gritted his teeth and became invisible. He stayed far enough away that Vlad's ghost sense wouldn't go off.

"Where was the Manson girl?" Vlad asked, his tone darkening. "Then that should be the first place you search. Spread out from there. Use your scanners. I don't pay you to fiddle around all day. You have new equipment, now use it!" Vlad hollered. "Find Daniel and do it before sunrise. I want him alive." He flipped the phone shut.

Danny clenched his fists. He scooped up a rock from the ground and palmed it. One well-aimed hit would probably knock Vlad out. At least for a little while. Danny hesitated. He raised his arm and narrowed his eyes. Vlad was still standing on the porch.

_Carefully. Carefully. _He repeated in his mind. If he missed, he was sure he'd be under fire within seconds. Danny ground his teeth together and chucked the rock. But it went right through Vlad. "What?!" Danny cried as the figure disappeared.

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel."

Three ropes of pink ecto-energy wrapped around Danny from the darkness, startling the boy and causing him to fall over. Danny yelped when he hit the ground. His body phased and he fell through the ecto-ropes and the earth. He came back up. "Vlad! Where are you?!" He demanded.

"And why do you think I'd tell you?" Came the response from his right. Danny turned and set the rings off. He fired a ghost ray, but it just splashed into a tree a few feet away.

"If your opponent is using the darkness to his advantage..."

"Aah!" Danny cried. He threw another ghost ray, but it missed.

"Then why would he choose to reveal his position? That would be foolish on his part." Three pink ghost rays hit Danny from behind, sending the boy crashing to the ground.

Danny crawled to his feet and circled around, surveying his surroundings as best he could in the lack of light. He hadn't noticed until now that the street lights in front of the house hadn't come on. Danny's eyes widened as he realized he'd been set up. "You... you knew I was coming...." He breathed.

"Of course, Daniel." Vlad chuckled. Danny swiveled around. "How ignorant do you think I am?" Vlad taunted. Danny spun around again, his hands glowing a bright green.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" He sneered.

"Stop trying to sound tough, Son. It doesn't work for you." A pair of hands reached out of the ground and locked around Danny's ankles. They pulled him through the earth. Vlad came back up, dragging Danny with him.

Danny blasted him with a ghost ray, but the duplicate just vanished, leaving Danny still on his crash course. He tried to phase, but it was of no use. He couldn't phase into the house and instead crashed against it.

"I knew you wouldn't just run away." Vlad said as Danny slid down the wall. "Of course you'd be seeking a way to turn everything around again. To _fix_ everything and after you realized there was no one to run to. No one could help you, so you'd come after me, hoping that I would somehow be your link to your old life."

"So... you do remember." Danny said through his teeth. He used the wall for support as he stood up wobbly.

Vlad sighed. "Yes, I remember." He threw another ghost ray, but Danny managed to dodge it. "But I'm the only one who does." He chuckled darkly.

Danny was breathing heavily. His back was sore and ectoplasm was seeping from a cut on his leg. But he couldn't give up. He wouldn't run from this. He was going to get answers. "What did you do, Plasmius?" He asked as his eyes glowed a bright blue. The energy gathered into his palms.

"Why do you always blame me?" Vlad teased.

"Mostly because you usually have something to do with it." Danny replied. "And partly because I can't stand you and you're a good scapegoat." He blasted a few disks of ice into the darkness. "Where are you?!" He shrieked.

Vlad's laugh echoed through the darkness. "Am I frustrating you?"

"Just answer the question." Danny growled.

"I don't believe I have to." Vlad replied. It was silent for a long time. Danny waited and listened. Suddenly, three pink disks came from each direction, speeding toward Danny. He raised his hands and blasted each of them with his own ice. The energy disks shattered before they made contact.

"Why doesn't Mom remember me?" Danny demanded.

"She does."

"You know what I mean! Why is Jazz so afraid?!"

"You mean... you don't remember?" Vlad asked in mock astonishment. "Why, Daniel, you hurt her."

Danny froze and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"All your sister ever wanted was to help you, Danny." Vlad taunted. "She only cared for you."

"What did you do to her?" Danny hissed.

"I told you, already. _You_ did it to her. Right before the lab incident. You were so stressed out about your parents' divorce. She just wanted to be there for you. To care for you. And you threw it in her face."

Something came hurdling at Danny and he was about to blast it out of the sky when he noticed it wasn't an attack. It was... an envelope?

The paper landed on the grass at Danny's feet. He eyed the darkness nervously before he carefully picked the manilla envelope off of the ground. Danny opened it and slowly pulled the contents out, still expecting some sort of attack to be coming his way.

But it wasn't an attack. It was a stack of papers. Papers with his identification information on it.

"What... what is this?" He asked, wide-eyed.

"Your criminal record." Vlad answered. His glowing, red eyes appeared in the foreground. "Since last year."

"C-Criminal?" Danny stuttered, looking through it. "Battery? Excessive violence? Vandalism?"

"It's a slow fade," Vlad remarked, "people usually have something that thick spread out over a span of twenty years. But not you, Son. Read the date."

"April 10, 2007." Danny breathed. "But... but..."

"The day your father left you, I'm afraid." Vlad told him in mock sympathy. "A sad day for all of us. Luckily, _I_ was there for your mother and sister."

The paper turned to ice in Danny's hand as he clenched his jaw. He crushed it in his fist.

"But how could I deal with such a troubled teen? Especially after you took it out on your own dear sister." Vlad clicked his tongue solemnly. "I was always there for your family. I've always treated them as my own."

"Where's my dad?" Danny whispered.

"But you, Daniel. You were just so upset that I had won." Vlad chuckled. "I suppose you just couldn't keep it all inside."

"Where's my dad?" Danny asked again.

Vlad ignored him again. "But, that _is_ what White Corp. is for. To put trouble-makers like you in your place."

"Where's my dad?!" Danny shouted, blasting a stream of ice toward the glowing, red eyes. This time, the attack made contact.


	7. FentonWorks

Thanks for the continued support everybody! It's much appreciated!

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, UJ

**Rating:** PG for some minor intense scenes

**Notes:** Sorry this has taken so long. xP I'm working on several projects right now and finals are coming up. Eek!

**Chapter Seven**

Danny breathed heavily as he waited for what would happen next. His heart was pounding in his ears, his fingers were twitching. The adrenaline that had fueled his attacks was now slowly dying every second that Vlad didn't say a word. Danny narrowed his eyes into the darkness.

"Vlad?" He asked in an even voice.

The returning, menacing chuckle echoed from every direction. Danny spun around where he stood, hands glowing a neon blue color again.

"Silly child," Vlad laughed from one specific direction. Danny turned to see the figure stroll out of the darkness. "Did you honestly believe you could defeat me that easily?"

"It's usually that easy...." Danny mumbled through his teeth.

Vlad chose to ignore the comment as he stared past Danny. "You are surrounded right now, Daniel. My power has increased since the last time we faced one another and now I am able to create clones of myself at will..." To prove his point, Vlad's body glowed a bright pink and a separate copy of himself materialized to his side. "...at any moment." He finished with a smile.

Danny crouched, ready to fight again.

But Vlad simply laughed. "You are no longer a challenge for me, _Danny Phantom_." He spat. "Why would I waste my time and energy on such an easy fight?" He reached behind his back. "Besides, I'm sure I could just take care of you by using this..." Vlad pulled out a familiar-looking device from behind his back.

Danny's eyes widened. "The Fenton Thermos..." He breathed.

"Actually, the Master Thermos. I think it has a nice ring to it, don't you?"

Danny ground his teeth together. "How did you get that?!" He demanded. "That was my dad's design! You had all of the ghost technology destroyed!"

Vlad's smug smirk didn't leave his face. "Actually, dear boy, it was your mother's design. Your father is a blithering idiot." He grimaced once but the leer came back. "And I never said I destroyed _all_ of the ghost technology. In fact, the Guys In White use quite a lot of it."

"But the Ghost Portals-"

"Those are destroyed." Vlad interrupted. He narrowed his eyes on Danny. "Why would I keep the Portals around when I have everything I want and need right here?"

Danny kept his glare on the villain. "I'll find a way to stop you." He warned in a low voice. "I'll make everything right again. I'll change it all back-"

Danny's words were interrupted by Vlad's malevolent laugh. His crimson eyes flashed in wicked delight at the boy in front of him. "I'd like to see you try." Vlad hissed. "It might actually be fun..." He tossed the Fenton Thermos into the air and caught it again. "If my agents don't catch you and drag you off first, that is."

Danny jumped into the air, his hands still alight with blue energy. "Where is my dad?" He asked again.

Vlad smiled in amusement. "If you really must know, the old nitwit lives near Axion. You shouldn't miss the house. If that's what you want to call it...." He laughed maniacally as Danny took to the skies, headed straight for Axion Labs.

_(pagebreak)_

The skies had quieted down a bit, Danny noticed as he flew invisibly over the town. The Guys In White were still scanning the streets in their fluorescent vehicles, but there wasn't a sense of chaos like there had been before. He kept himself focused as he flew. The time stream wasn't the only weird thing here. Vlad was hiding something and Danny couldn't tell what. Usually, the villain was so easy to read, almost as easy as Technus, but Vlad just wasn't giving him any clues now.

Danny knew if he got upset now, he'd lose focus and probably "fall into the wrong hands", as cliched as it sounded. He needed to stay alert. He needed to make sure he wouldn't get caught... and heading right for Axion Labs, and probably a ton of agents, might not have been the best idea.

Danny sighed to himself as he came upon the massive building. At least he still had the cover of darkness to work with. He surveyed the grounds from his vantage point until a large wooden sign caught his eye.

The boards were tacked together carelessly with big, painted letters on the front reading, "FentonWorks", with the "s" facing backward.

Danny slapped his forehead. "As subtle as ever...." He mumbled to himself, and floated to the ground. Making sure no one was around to spot him, Danny closed his eyes. Two rings of pure, white light shot out from his middle in a ring and extended outward, transforming him from his ghost half to his human half.

Danny Fenton opened his eyes and took another quick look around before he sprinted through the low underbrush to the large, wooden sign. Standing just behind the sign was a small lean-to. Danny's expression fell when he saw the condition the old shack was in. One of the only two windows was boarded up. The tin roof had scorch marks on the top of it. The clothes line, on which hung a few old socks and some undergarments, was broken and laid across the front lawn. There were several tall devices surrounding the old house, each one made of old, rusted metal, cracked light bulbs, shredded tires and other bric-a-brac. A stack of cinderblocks stood next to the shack, helping to keep the lean-to from falling over completely into the shallow creek that snaked through the small ditch to the left of the shack.

Danny stepped carefully forward, taking in the landscape around him. He was absolutely speechless. How could his dad stand living in a dump like this? What must have happened to him to cause him to fall this low?... And what would his dad be like in this strange alternate world?

He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and with a determined look on his face, marched forward to the old screen door that was missing the actual screen. Danny took a deep breath to calm himself and rapped loudly three times on the wood next to the door.


	8. JackWorks

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, MDG, KS

**Rating:** G

**Notes:** One more final exam to go! Eek! Also, I am not bashing Spongebob. Personally, I like Spongebob. I just thought it would be funny to insert that little bit into the chapter. And this is a short chapter. Sorry! xP

**Chapter Eight**

There was a clatter on the other side of the door as Danny waited. He took a step back as the noise became loud footsteps against the floor coming toward the door. Eventually, the door swung open and Danny's eyes widened.

"What are you doing here?"

Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "D-Danielle?"

The little girl with black hair and blue eyes, the same as Danny's, leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed. "Who else would it be?" She said sarcastically.

"But... what are you doing here? This is my dad's house." Danny stammered.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Hello," she sang and jabbed a finger in the direction behind Danny. "It says, _FentonWorks_, not _JackWorks_. All Fentons are allowed in here." She grinned and shrugged. "Including you, I guess."

The little girl straightened back up and held the door open for Danny as he climbed in carefully.

The inside of the shack was probably worse than the outside, Danny thought as he entered. The small room he was standing in might have been the living room, but it was so cluttered the only reason "_living_ room" came to his mind was because of the old, tattered couch in the corner. Danny felt a lump forming in his throat. This is what Plasmius had driven his family to?

"Sit down. Stay a while." Danni chuckled as she flopped onto the old, green couch. A cloud of dust wafted up around her but she waved it away with her hand.

"This is what you're living in?" Danny asked quietly.

Danielle shrugged. "It's not all bad. We get free cable."

Danny looked at her strangely. "How?"

"Well, Uncle Jack rigged up our TV to Axion somehow." Danielle grinned. "I can watch Spongebob whenever I want."

Danny wrinkled his nose at the mention of the cartoon. "Wonderful," he commented. "Danielle, where _is_ my dad?"

Danielle sighed. "I don't know. He went off to Axion, trying to show off his latest invention, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked. He shifted a pile of clutter over so that he could sit on the floor.

"I mean, inventing things is Uncle Jack's passion. Always has been. But since Mr. Masters won't give him any funding, he rarely makes something that works." She frowned. "He's always trying to invent something for the Guys In White. To help fight 'ghost tyranny'."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Even when he did have funding, he rarely made something that worked...." He mumbled. Louder, he asked, "Danielle, what about you?"

She tilted her head. "What about me?" She repeated with a grin.

"I mean, you're a halfa. Aren't you worried about what the Guys In White might do to you?"

Danielle hesitated before looking away. "I was. At first." She sat up straight, staring down at her lap. "When I first came back to Amity Park and saw all the... well, security, I guess."

"But now?" Danny prompted.

She shrugged. "I care about Uncle Jack. I don't want him to be alone." She smiled up at Danny. "And besides, the Geeks in White haven't caught me yet." She said proudly.

Danny smiled softly. "That's good to hear."

"So, are you going to explain something now?" Danielle asked, crossing her arms.

Danny blinked at her. "Ehh... sure?"

"How in the world did you get back here and why haven't _you_ been caught yet?" Danielle asked. "From what I've heard, you're a pretty bad dude anymore. I'd think Security would be all over your butt."

"Well, they are." Danny sighed. "But I've managed to escape... for now."

Danielle frowned. "They're gonna drag you back to White Corp, huh?" She asked quietly.

Danny's eyes flashed. "Not if I can help it," he said in a low voice. "Danielle, I need to explain something to you." He stood up. "It's about Vlad. I think he's up to something..."

Danielle was alert in an instant. "You think he's a crazed-up fruit-loop too?"

Danny couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes. But there's more than that. Something really weird is going on and if I'm going to change it, I'll need your help."

She stood up, grinning. "Aye aye, Captain!" She giggled, saluting him.


	9. Phenomenon

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, KS, MDG, TUE,

**Rating:** PG for mild, brief cartoon violence

**Notes:** Merry Christmas everyone! I'm done with school, but I've got Christmas and New Year's stuff coming up, so it might take a while for the next installment. ^^;; Sorry! And thanks for all the support guys! It means a lot!

**Chapter Nine**

Danielle looked at him carefully. "So... time has been changed then?" She asked slowly.

Danny sighed. "I know, I know. It sounds weird. Especially if you've never even heard of Clockwork before."

"I've heard of Clockwork." Danielle replied. Danny looked up at her, astonished. "Yeah, he was in an old book I read once. It was all about myths and legends and stuff. Where did I find that book at?" She asked the last part to herself, tapping the side of her head while she thought about it. "Somewhere in California. I don't really remember."

"But... Vlad should have gotten rid of that book. No one has heard of Clockwork here in Amity..." Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "If Vlad wanted to make sure I couldn't change the world back, he should have made everything related to Clockwork disappear."

"Maybe he didn't know about the book?" Danielle suggested. "I mean, it was only a really quick blurb. Right next to Zeus and Apollo."

"Danielle, open the door!" Came a cry from outside. Danny and Danni jumped up. The little girl scurried over to the door and swung it open.

"Uncle Jack, what's-"

"Close the door!" Jack shouted once he was inside. Danni slammed the door shut and both she and Jack pressed themselves up against it.

"Resistance is futile." The voice was mechanical and muffled on the outside of the door. The thing outside banged on the old, wooden door three times before it repeated the same sentence.

"Uncle Jack, what is that thing?!" Danni cried.

"That, little lady, would be the Fenton Anti-Ghost Chaser 9000." Jack said proudly.

"Well, what's wrong with it?" Danielle asked.

"Uhh... well... I'm not sure exactly." Jack replied. "Go get me the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick!"

Danielle ran across the house and began digging through a pile of old magazines.

Jack turned his head to look at Danny. "You there, help me hold out the-" He paused. "...Danny?"

"Helping." Danny said quickly and pressed himself up against the door as well.

"What are you doing here?" Jack demanded.

"Long story, Dad."

"Here it is!" Danielle cried. She came running back with the wooden baseball bat in her hands. Jack swiped the bat from her, pushed Danny out of the way and swung open the door.

A tall, rusty metallic robot stood outside the door, its head unnaturally cocked to one side. A set of razor sharp claws made from razor blades stretched out toward Jack.

"Back!" Jack shouted, swinging the bat. "Back I say!" He smashed the bat against the side of the robot's head.

"Resistance is... fuuuuutiiiiileeee...." The red eyes of the machine flickered and died. The whole robot crumpled to the ground.

Jack stood there, still wielding his weapon high above his head, waiting for the machine to make another move. When it was still for several seconds, he backed into the house again and closed the door. Everything was silent for a few more seconds until both Jack and Danielle burst out into boughts of laughter, surprising Danny.

"Sheesh! That thing was scary-looking." Danielle exclaimed. "What'd you do to make it so angry?"

"I don't know," Jack said through chuckles. "It just started acting haywire when I got closer to the house."

Danielle and Danny exchanged worried looks. "Well, that's weird..." Danielle replied.

"Yeah..." Jack paused and looked back at Danny. He stood there, silent. Danny was beginning to feel himself shift and move uncomfortably under his dad's unreadable expression.

"Hi... Dad..." He said quietly.

Jack was silent for a few more long seconds before he threw his arms out and shouted, "Danny, my boy!" He wrapped his son in his arms and spun him around.

Danny, shocked at his father's expression, didn't know what to do. He just hung there, letting Jack crush him to death.

"I haven't seen you in ages, Son!" Jack cried once he had put Danny back down.

"Yeah... same here." Danny answered, rubbing his arms to get the blood back into his fingers. "What's been... going on, Dad?"

"Well, if you really must know," Jack grinned. "This!" He grabbed Danny by the elbow and dragged him into the next room. This room was smaller than the living room, but equally as cluttered. Only, it wasn't cluttered with clothes or books or food. The walls of this room were covered in blue prints, drawings and schematics. The floor was littered with tools, rusted scraps of metal, pieces and parts to machines. But what caught Danny's eye was the large sheet covering a massive object on the back wall.

"What... is... this?" Danny asked hesitantly.

Jack was about to explode from the excitement. "This is my latest invention!" He cried. He grabbed the sheet and yanked it off of the device.

Danielle walked in, standing behind Danny, and carefully peered around him. "It looks like a giant donut..." She commented.

The ring-like device was constructed with old hunks of rusted metal that had been eaten through in places. Wires stuck out everywhere, linking to a few different buttons around the edges of the machine.

Danny blinked at it and then at Jack. "Uh... what is it?" He asked.

"Oh come on," Jack moaned. "You don't remember the Ghost Portal, Danny? Sheesh, what are those teachers doing to you at that school?"

Danny's face lit up. His eyes widened. "Ghost Portal?! This is a ghost portal?!" He cried.

"Well, part of one anyway." Jack grinned. "It's gonna take a while to get the rest of it up and running, but this baby will be just like the others! Efficient and running beautifully in no time!" He rubbed the top of his prized possession with his hand until a piece fell off. "Oh... uh... heh heh..." Jack snatched the piece from the floor. "It's not exactly that stable yet..."

"Does Mayor Vlad know about this?" Danielle asked quietly.

"Of course not!" Jack cried. "This is a surprise for Ol' Vladdy!" He chuckled.

"What?!" Danny shouted. "No! No, Dad." He stretched up on his toes to put his hands on the big man's shoulders. "You can't let Vlad know about this!"

Jack looked at Danny strangely. "Well, why not? Vladdy just loves my inventions!"

"No, he doesn't, Dad." Danny argued. "Vlad will just destroy this one like he did the others."

"Vlad destroyed the others because ghosts were getting out of it." Jack answered, taking Danny's hands off of him. "This is a one-way. Or, at least, it will be." He grinned. "Things can get in but nothin's gettin' out!" He laughed again.

Danny and Danielle looked at each other again. "Maybe you should tell him..." Danielle whispered.

"No." Danny said through his teeth. "I'm not getting Dad involved."

"Danny, he could help you. Tell him!" Danielle pulled on his shirt. "Come on, Danny. Just tell him."

"Tell me what?" Jack asked as he pulled off his gloves. "What's on your mind kids?"

"Oh.. I was just... going to say..." Danny cleared his throat. "That I really like your design. Very... spiffy."

Danielle raised an eyebrow at him for his choice of words. Then, in a rush, she blurted, "Uncle Jack, Danny needs your help, 'cause Vlad changed the time stream and now he's stuck in an alternate reality where nothing's the same and he doesn't want to tell you because he doesn't want to get you involved."

"Danielle!" Danny grabbed her by the back of her shirt and lifted her off the ground. "Brat."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

Jack looked at each of the kids with a confused and slightly incredulous expression on his face. "Huh?"

Danny sighed. "Nothing, Dad. Never mind. Danielle thinks she's being helpful and she's not." He said the last part through his teeth as he glared at her.

Danielle just grinned back, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

Danny's eyes widened. "Don't you dare..." He whispered.

"Too late." Danielle giggled as two beams of white light exploded from her abdomen and stretched outward. Black hair was traded for white, blue eyes replaced with green. Her normal, street clothes were now the black and white spandex suit of Danni Phantom.

After the transformation was complete, she phased out of Danny's grip and hovered in front of Jack. "Hi, Uncle Jack." She waved shyly.

Danny watched Jack's expression very carefully. Jack didn't seem to be phased. He continued to look at each one of them with the same look of confusion on his features.

Then, very suddenly, Jack shouted, "GHOST!!!!" He pulled out a small gun from his back pocket and fired at Danielle.


	10. School Project

**Spoilers: **MM, TUE, KS, EfaE, MI

**Rating:** PG for drama. xD

**Notes:** WHOA!!! It's been a looooong time since I've gotten to this. Sorry fans. (sweatdrop) I've been having a really rough time at home, so I haven't had a chance to really write anything. And, even if I had, I've been too depressed to come up with something good. Hopefully this won't like my creative talent. xD

**Chapter Ten**

"No, Dad!" Danny screamed. He reacted before he could think about his actions. His fist glowed bright green and he blasted the ecto-energy at the shot that was hurdling toward his cousin. The two shots canceled each other out.

"Defensive Maneuver Alpha!" Jack hollered. He leapt behind the metal ring holding his pistol-like weapon out and aiming it at Danny. "Don't move, Ghost!"

"Dad, it's me!" Danny cried. He held up his hands to form a square-shaped shield in front of him and Danielle. "It's Danny!"

"No it's not!" Jack bellowed. "My son is no ghost!"

"Uncle Jack, really." Danielle squeaked from behind Danny's protective shield. "It's us."

"Dad, this isn't a trick, I promise." Danny locked his eyes onto Jack's. "I'm your son, and I need your help."

Jack kept his glare on both of them and his hand shifted as he moved his finger closer to the trigger. "You better get out of here, or I'll... I'll..."

"You'll do what?" Danny challenged, gritting his teeth. "Throw your toolbox at me? You think that gun will do much against me?" He lowered the shield and Danielle gasped. Danny phased his body. "Do you think you can hit me?" He became solid again and his hands began glowing. "Don't you think I can fight?"

Jack hesitated.

"Dad, you have nothing left." Danny's voice was softer now. "You have nothing left because Vlad took everything you had."

"Vladdy didn't do any of that." Jack whispered. "He was there for Maddie and Jazz when I wasn't-"

"That's not true and you know it!" Danny screamed. He landed on the floor in front of Jack. "Vlad stole Mom and Jazz away from you! He's always wanted to and he finally got his chance. Please Dad, just put the gun down."

Jack's face scrunched up out of sorrow. Slowly, he lowered the gun until he dropped it on the floor.

Danny took a sigh of relief and let the rings come again to change him back. "I can make things better again." He whispered, unsure of his own voice as he took a hesitant step toward his father. Danny knelt down in front of Jack and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder, partly because he was afraid that Jack might blast him. But the greater part of his nervousness was because he wasn't sure how to handle this. What if he was wrong? What if this really was his present and he'd just gone crazy like everyone had said? What if he was filling his friends and, even his family, with false hope?

"You can get Mom back," were the only words he could think of to comfort his father. Jack sighed, his shoulders slumping underneath Danny's hand, before he looked up at Danny.

He smiled, his blue eyes glassy. "You really think so?"

"Totally!" Danielle cried, still hovering in the air on the other side of the small room.

Danny smiled too. "Totally." He agreed.

_pagebreak_

"Danny, I need those blue prints!" Jack hollered from the make-shift lab.

Danny sighed, already holding three different sets in his left hand, one between his knees and one in his mouth as his right hand searched through the cabinets of junk to look for the right schematic.

"Is this it?" He asked, those his words were slightly jumbled together from holding a roll of paper in his mouth. He reached across the room to hand the next blue print to Jack, who was wedged underneath the "donut", being suspended in the air by Danielle.

Jack felt around before grasping the drawing. He swiped it from Danny's hand and unraveled it. "Here it is!" He said.

Danny sighed with relief as he dropped all of the other schematics he'd been holding. "Here, Danielle. Let me take a turn." Danny stood up from the ground and dusted his pants off as he said out of habit, "Goin' ghost." He rose into the air.

"No!" Danielle argued, sweat dotting her forehead. "I can handle this. I'm strong enough to-" She bit her lip as the green energy surrounding the metal ring began fizzling out.

"Whoa!" Danny thrusted his hands forward and the green ecto-energy that trickled out from his palms encompassed the metal ring, leaving it suspended safely in the air over Jack.

Danielle breathed heavily and gave up, floating back down to the ground where she flopped onto her back. "That's heavy."

The exhausted halfa's rings of light came to turn her human again.

"So, Danny..." Jack said as he began unscrewing a bolt toward the bottom of the device. "You said you needed my help...?"

"Uh... yeah." Danny grimaced. "It's kind of complicated, but all I really need is for this portal to be up and running... and soon."

"Can I ask why?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Would you believe it was for a school project?"

"If you're here, then obviously you're not going to that school." Jack deduced. "Unless you're taking a field trip of some sort..."

"Yep. That's it. That's totally it."

"No, it's not." Danielle said in a sweet voice from the ground. Danny looked down at her smiling face. She winked at him.

"Danielle, stay out of it."

"If you wanted me to stay out of it," she began politely as she propped herself up on her elbows, "then you wouldn't have told me all about Clockwork."

"Who's Clockwork?" Jack asked.

"No one." Danny said through his teeth. "Danielle," he hissed the warning.

She just grinned back. "Clockwork's a ghost, Uncle Jack."

At the mention of the word 'ghost', Jack froze.

"Good ghost!" Danny cried suddenly. "Like me, Dad. He's not a villain, he's really nice." _Even if he is a little intimidating...._

Jack looked up at his son incredulously.

"Please, Dad. Just trust me. Honestly, Clockwork's a friend."

Jack sighed and went back to working.

Danny felt bad. He knew how his father was and this was indeed a difficult subject to talk about, especially when Jack's most hated, evil arch-nemesis was hovering six feet above him....

"Clockwork controls time." Danielle went on.

"If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll do it myself." Danny threatened.

"A ghost controls time?" Jack asked, and laughed once without humor. "That _is_ funny."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Ehhh... actually... that part's true too, Dad."

Jack stopped again, this time glaring at Danny. "A ghost?"

"Yes."

"Controls time?"

"Well... he doesn't really control it so much as he... kind of, watches over it. Makes sure nothing happens that isn't supposed to happen." Danny shrugged.

Jack grumbled something under his breath, before replying, "If you say so...."

Danny let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and smiled. Jack was taking this rather well...


	11. Fudge

**Spoilers:** MM, TUE, KS, EfaE, MI

**Rating:** G

**Notes:** Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. xD Thanks for all the support, everyone! Jack is a surprisingly difficult character to write for if he's your only hope of survival, lol.

**Chapter Eleven**

"Well, it's pretty much finished," Jack said as he rolled out from under the ghost portal.

Danny set the metal ring down carefully. "But what about the rest of it? Isn't there a tunnely thing that attaches to it?"

"Ummm... your mother always made that part...." Jack scratched his head as he stood up. "But I'm sure this will work just fine!"

"So, how do we turn it on?" Danny asked as he floated back down. Jack watched him warily, taking a step away from him when Danny landed close.

"Well... uh... there was a button on the last one...."

"Which was inside the tunnely thing." Danny sighed. "Great."

"Why couldn't you just hook up the controls to an external hard drive where we'd be able to operate it manually from a laptop computer?" Danielle asked.

Jack and Danny stared at her.

Danielle shrugged. "What? Uncle Jack's got a lot of books lying around and I get bored easily...."

"Could we do that?" Danny asked.

Jack stared at the portal for a moment while he thought about it. "Uhh... your mom was the one that hooked up the button...." Jack grimaced.

Danny slapped his forehead. "Come on, Dad. You have to understand some of this. Don't you know what Mom did?"

"Well... she took a button... and she hooked it up with some wires and then did something with a computer and... viola!" Jack grinned. "It worked!"

Danny and Danielle rolled their eyes.

"I know." Danielle sprang up. "Why don't we ask the Guys In White?"

"No!" Danny hollered. "If they find out that I'm-"

"Calm down, Silly." Danielle beamed as she put her hands on her hips. "I never said that _you_ should ask them."

"Danielle, they have scanners. They can find you too."

"But Uncle Jack's not a ghost," She replied, wrinkling her nose at her argumentative cousin. "And they know he's got all sorts of wacky ideas."

"Hey," Jack complained. "They're not wacky."

Danny ignored him. "So he should just go there and ask them to set up a ghost portal? They can't. Vlad outlawed-"

"My _daddy_ destroyed them, he didn't outlaw them. 'Sides, the Guys In White use all sorts of ghost-fighting technology. I'm sure they would be able to set up a little control button."

Danny sighed. "I don't like this plan."

"Then maybe _you_ should have become a famous scientist." Danielle stuck her tongue out. "Unless you want to kidnap your mom or something."

Danny frowned and opened his mouth to say something when an idea hit him. He looked at Jack, who had the same expression on his face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Danny asked.

"Are you thinking about fudge?" Jack replied.

Danny furrowed his eyebrows. "No."

"Oh. Then no." Jack grinned. "Who wants fudge!" He bounded back into the living room.

"Oooo!!! Me!" Danni cried as she chased after him.

Danny sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "This might be harder than I thought."


	12. InvisOBill

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, KS, MDG, EfaE

**Rating:** PG for mild cartoon violence

**Notes:** *sneaks in, trying to be discreet* Ahem. Well, everyone, my speeches are over and my final paper isn't due for two weeks, so I thought I could dig this out of the grave it fell into and keep it going. xD I still remember the plot.... I think. xD Don't worry. I've got it covered. Oh! And thanks for all the comments, guys! I'm glad you're really liking this!

**Chapter Twelve**

"Help! Help! It's the Ghost Boy!" Danielle screamed as she ran down the street toward Vlad's mansion. She was human now as she ran, and she was drawing a lot of attention from the passersby and other onlookers of the neighborhood. She was looking behind her every so often to make sure Danny was chasing her... and acting threatening. She realized, after the first minute of running, that he didn't make a good villain....

"Help me! Mayor Masters, please!" She banged on the front door as Danny flew up, preparing a ball of ectoplasm in his hands. People in the neighborhood stood around to watch, each of them holding expressions of fear or anger on their faces and muttering things to each other.

"What is all that racket!" Vlad pulled the door open roughly with an aggravated look on his face until he saw Danielle. "What are _you_ doing here?" He hissed.

Danni smiled. "Mayor Masters! Danny Phantom is trying to _kiiiiiiiill_ me!!!" She wailed, wrapping herself around one of the man's legs.

"For Pete's sake, Child! Get off!" Vlad dragged his leg with him out onto the porch as he looked into the air at Danny. "What on Earth are you doing?!"

Danny grinned smugly. "That kid... uh.." he cleared his throat as he tried to think of something, "she called me Invis-O-Bill! I hate that!" He shouted, true frustration showing through his act.

Vlad rolled his eyes. "That was the best you could come up with?" He grumbled. There were too many witnesses to change over now and his cell phone was back in the house so he couldn't contact the Guys In White without ignoring Danielle... and _that_ wouldn't look good in front of his people.

"Vlad?" Came Maddie's worried voice as she poked her head out of the door. "What's going-" She gasped. "Oh my!"

"Not now, Madeline," Vlad said through his teeth. "Grab my cell phone and dial the Guys In White. Tell them our little pest decided to show up after all." His cold eyes narrowed on Danny. Maddie hurried back inside.

The halfa boy smiled back. "Hey, Masters," he called. "Let's play catch." He held up the ball of ectoplasm. "Just like father and son _should_."

"You are _not_ my son!" Vlad shouted, pointing accusingly at Danny. "You are a nuisance to our peaceful town and an annoyance to me!"

"Funny. I thought you would consider me your son since you stole the rest of my family!" Danny shouted, the ball of ectoplasm getting bigger.

Danielle screamed dramatically again before scampering off into the house behind Vlad.

"Hey!" He shouted at her. "Get back here, you-"

"Think fast!" Danny shouted and he threw the ectoball at Vlad before becoming invisible.

Vlad gasped and spun around, but he was too late. He shut his eyes tightly and prepared for the worst. When nothing hit him, he opened his eyes. The ectoball had splattered to the ground in front of him. Vlad gritted his teeth and looked around. "Where are you?" He demanded. "What games are you playing, Daniel?!"

(pagebreak)

Maddie tried screaming again, but hands over her mouth prevented any loud sound from being heard.

"Ssshhhh."

Her violet eyes were intense. She kicked backward at her attacker and made contact. He groaned in pain, letting go of her. She spun around, preparing to punch her attacker when she recognized the big man lying in the fetal position and holding his legs together.

"Jack?" She whispered.

"Ohhh, Mrs. Masters!"

Maddie spun around again to come face-to-face with Danielle in ghost form.

"Boo!" Danni stuck her tongue out at the lady before laughing and shooting Maddie with a small ghost ray.

It struck the woman in the shoulder, close to her neck. She gasped before falling backward, on top of Jack, unconscious.

Danny appeared next to Danielle. "We're not far from the mansion, so we need to get going. Masters still thinks I'm playing with him, so we-" he paused. "Mom!" He shouted. "Danielle, what did you do to her?!"

"Calm down, Worrypants." Danielle put her hands on her hips. "Your mom is fine, okay? She's just asleep. I knocked her out."

"You what?!" Danny shrieked.

"Don't worry about me..." Jack coughed. "I'm fine."

"It didn't hurt her, okay?" Danni backed away from her angry cousin. "I learned it from Valerie. I just hit a nerve-"

Danny's eyes burned at Danielle. "Don't you _ever_ do that to her again." He growled. "I'll take care of my mom from now on."

He floated over to Maddie's unconscious form.

"Thanks for asking." Jack winced. "But I'll be okay."

"Sorry, Dad." Danny sighed and lifted Maddie into his arms bridal-style. "Are you okay?"

Jack stood up, still cringing in pain. "Your mother has one heck of a kick...." He mumbled.

Danny half-smiled. "Let's just get her back to your place before the Guys In White show up. If that happens... we're toast."

"Sheesh, you're such a downer today." Danielle folded her arms across her chest. "How about saying something like, 'let's get back to your place before the Guys In White show up. If that happens, I'm going to have to kick their butts so hard they'll run home with their tails between their legs!'" She grinned and punched the air to get herself pumped up.

Jack and Danny looked at her.

Danielle sighed. "Fine. Let's go." She grumbled.


	13. Girl Power

**Spoilers:** MM, BR, KS, MDG, EfaE

**Rating:** PG for mild cartoon peril

**Notes:** Yes! Another chapter! At 1 o'clock in the morning! Hurraaaaaay. *dies*

**Chapter Thirteen**

"I... don't understand," Maddie whispered as she looked at the large, metal ring.

"It's a little hard to explain, Aunt Maddie." Danni popped into the room and pulled her pink hat down over her black pony tail. "But long story short- uncle Jack doesn't know what he's doing."

"And this Danny Phantom character wants the Ghost Portal completed?" Maddie looked at it incredulously.

"Well... yeah." Danni grinned sheepishly as she walked up to the lady. "The Guys In White finally scared him." She shrugged. "He wants to go back to the Ghost Zone and never come back."

"And since when do you two trust _ghosts_?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"Since he's pointing ectoplasm at me." Jack stumbled into the room, backward, and tripped over a stack of books lying on the ground.

Danny floated into the room, pointing his index finger- which was glowing light green- at Jack with a bored look on his face. "Hurry it up, Lady." He growled.

Maddie's eyes widened. "You-"

"Hey, I didn't say you could talk." Danny raised his other hand to point at his mom. Though it hurt him to see her truly scared of him for once, he had to keep up the act. He didn't want to reveal himself to her. _Not to Mom_. His dad was different... more Mr. Magooesque. His mom... she was hardcore.

"He just wants the portal fixed, Aunt Maddie." Danni whimpered, hiding behind the woman's leg to add to the drama.

Danny rolled his eyes at her.

"Why have you taken my family hostage, you... you..." Maddie's eyes narrowed. "You fiend!"

"Oh please, save me the lecture." Danny grimaced. "I know you've been hanging around Vlad a lot lately, Mo-...addie, but the way he talks is really annoying. I'd appreciate it if you talked like the rest of us normal beings."

"Normal?" Jack questioned.

Danny rolled his eyes again.

"I did the best I could, Hon." Jack shrugged, still sitting on the floor.

Maddie looked at Jack and then at Danny before she crossed her arms. "No."

"What?" Jack, Danny and Danielle all exclaimed at once.

"I said, no. I don't work on ghost technology anymore, Jack, and I _certainly_ don't work _for_ ghosts."

"But... but..." Jack stood back up. "What about the Ghost Portal!"

"Fix it yourself." Maddie turned her back on them. "Vladdy destroyed those things for a reason, Jack. They cause nothing but trouble!"

"Yeah, if the ghosts are locked out with us!" Danni cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"If _Vladdy_ really wanted us gone in the first place, don't you think he would have thrown us back in the Ghost Zone first, before destroying the portals?" Danny challenged.

Maddie was stubborn. She kept her back toward them.

Jack looked at Danny. "What now?" He mouthed.

Danny sighed. He had nothing.

"I think you don't remember how." Danielle teased, grinning at the woman. "You don't remember how to build it."

"I most certainly do," Maddie argued.

Danielle giggled. "The famous Maddie Masters doesn't know how to fix a Ghost Portal!"

Danny grinned, catching onto his cousin's plan. "Yeah. I thought the Fentons and the Masters were supposed to be experts in this field."

"Hey!" Jack shouted. "We are!"

"That's right!" Maddie agreed, turning slightly to glare at Danny.

Danny shrugged and crossed his arms. "Yeah right. What I've seen so far- a bunch of scaredy-cats." He laughed once without humor. "A scientist who can't create a piece of working equipment to save his life." He pointed accusingly at Jack before panning over to Danni. "A little girl who's too caught up in watching _SpongeBob Squarepants_ to pay attention."

"You watch SpongeBob?" Jack asked her. She grinned sheepishly.

"And a has-been scientist who can't remember a thing about the ghost technology she spent so many years perfecting." Danny glared at Maddie. "A loser, a nobody. A _has-been_."

Maddie's violet eyes flashed with anger. "Has-been?! I'll show you has-been!" She marched over to Jack's tool box. "Jack, give me everything you've got. We're getting this baby running."

Jack grinned and scurried over to dig out his tools.

Danny crossed his arms and shared a look of victory with Danielle.


End file.
